Joe Louis Walker — Hornet's Nest Also known as: JLWBorn: December 25, 1949, San Francisco, California, United StatesLocation: Oakland, CaliforniaNotable instruments: Fender Stratocaster Gibson SG Custom Gibson Les PaulAlbum release: February 25, 2014Record Label: Alligator RecordsDuration: 51:21Tracks:01. Hornet's Nest (4:03)02. All I Wanted To Do (4:20)03. As The Sun Goes Down (4:24)04. Stick A Fork In Me (3:04)05. Don't Let Go (4:44)06. Love Enough (4:36)07. Ramblin' Soul (5:50)08. Ride On, Baby (3:37)09. Soul City (3:54)10. I'm Gonna Walk Outside (4:48)11. Not In Kansas Anymore (3:36)12. Keep The Faith (4:10)Notes:♦ In 2013, Walker was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. In addition that year, Walker was nominated in four categories for a Blues Music Award.Description:♦ “On his dynamic new CD, HORNET'S NEST, Walker's music is equal parts rock 'n' roll fire and blistering, passionate blues. HORNET'S NEST was recorded in Nashville and produced by songwriter/ drummer Tom Hambridge (producer of James Cotton's Grammy-nominated Cotton Mouth Man, Buddy Guy's recent Grammy-winning CDs and Walker's previous CD, HELLFIRE). HORNET'S NEST (featuring 12 songs, including nine new originals) blends Walker's boundless energy and his myriad influences into a contemporary blues tour-de-force. His always-inventive guitar playing is matched note-for-note by his fervent vocals. From menacing, hard rocking electric blues to cool Memphis funk to R&B rave-ups to Sunday morning gospel, Walker's blues (fierce and untamed, adventurous and fun) continue to define the genre. The band (Hambridge on drums, Reese Wynans on organ and piano, Rob McNelley on guitar, and Tommy MacDonald on bass) pushed Walker to deliver his absolute best. “It comes through loud and clear,” Walker says. “If I don't believe it, nobody is gonna believe it. And ain't nobody is gonna listen to it or buy it.”In french:♦ C'est le 25ème album du bluesman, le second sur le label Alligator. Les amateurs devraient apprécier.Website:http://joelouiswalker.com/Alligator Records:http://www.alligator.com/MySpace:https://myspace.com/joelouiswalkerFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/joelouiswalkerPress: Marc Lipkin,publicity@allig.comAgent: Intrepid Artists: www.intrepidartists.comBackground:♦ In many ways, Walker’s story is unusual. Born in San Francisco (on December Day 1949 and now based in Westchester, New York, he was part of the Bay area blues scene in his early teens, and by the time he was 16 he had soaked up the sounds of the likes of T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, and boogie woogie pioneers Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson. As he grew up, he found himself on stage with such disparate tutors as John Lee Hooker, Thelonius Monk, the Soul Stirrers, Steve Miller and Jimi Hendrix. And by the time he was 19 he had built a close friendship — they were roommates for many years — with Mike Bloomfield.♦ Bloomfield’s tragic early death persuaded the young Walker to change his life. He enrolled at San Francisco State University, earning music and English degrees — and performing regularly with a gospel group, The Spiritual Corinthians.♦ In 1985, he came back to the blues, fronting a new band he called The Bosstalkers, ands making the first of five albums for the Hightone label, before signing to PolyGram’s Verve/Gitanes label, for who he recorded another six albums.♦ These records served as an entrée into the European market. Sterling appearances at major festivals throughout Europe (North Sea Jazz, Glastonbury, Nottoden and Montreux among them) led to further tours and festivals in Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Ireland, Turkey and Brazil.♦ Along the way he played President George Bush’s inauguration, helped President Bill Clinton induct B.B. King into the Kennedy Centre Awards, and performed on America’s most-watched late-night television shows.Albums:♦ Hellfire (Alligator Records, 2012)♦ Between A Rock and The Blues (Stony Plain Music, 2009)♦ Witness To The Blues (Stony Plain Music, 2008)♦ Playin' Dirty (JSP, 2006)♦ New Direction (Provogue, 2004)♦ Ridin' High (HighTone, 2003)♦ She's My Money Maker (JSP, 2002/03)♦ Guitar Brothers (JSP Records, 2002)♦ Pasa Tiempo (Evidence Music, 2002)♦ In the Morning (Telarc, 2002)♦ Silvertone Blues (Polydor/Polygram, 1999)♦ Preacher and the President (Polydor/Polygram, 1998)♦ Great Guitars (Polydor/Polygram, 1997)♦ Blues Of The Month Club (Polydor/Polygram, 1995)♦ JLW (Polydor/Polygram, 1994)♦ Blues Survivor (Polydor/Polygram, 1993)♦ Live At Slim's, Volume Two (HighTone, 1992)♦ Live At Slim's, Volume One (HighTone, 1991)♦ Blue Soul (HighTone, 1989)♦ The Gift (HighTone, 1988)♦ Cold Is The Night (HighTone, 1986)DVDs:♦ Live At 'On Broadway' (Blues Express, 2001)♦ Joe Louis Walker in Concert (inakoustik, 2003)_______________________________________________________________